FrailtyPRO-FGFNCT07893665
PROfiles of FGF-19 Post-prandial Secretion in Older Adults With Frailty and Without Frailty
A study testing FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood sampling in people with Frailty and Sarcopenia, run by Hospices Civils de Lyon at 1 site in France.
Trial summary
Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 (FGF-19) is an intestinal hormone secreted in the post-prandial state, whose primary role is to inhibit bile acid synthesis in the liver. It is expressed by the FXR (Farnesoid X receptor) nuclear receptor in the enterocytes of the ileum, which is activated by specific bile acids metabolized… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 70 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Frailty, Sarcopenia
- What is being tested?
- FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood sampling
- Type of treatment
- Injection or infusion
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 30 participants
- Where
- 1 siteFrance
- Study dates
- 16 Nov 2026to 16 Mar 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 70 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age ≥70 years
- Give his/her informed consent
- For the FRAIL group: SPPB ≤8, confirmed frailty (≥ 3 criteria in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and a at least a probable sarcopenia (regarding the revised European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs ie. Low muscle strength either in the handgrip <27kg in men and <16kg in women or in the 5-repetitions chair stand test >15s)
- For the ROBUST group: SPPB >8, no frailty (no criterion in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and no sarcopenia (normal muscle strength regarding the European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs).
Who cannot join
- Individuals who have undergone cholecystectomy, colectomy, or small bowel resection
- Individuals with diabetes undergoing oral treatment with metformin
- Body mass index >35 kg/m2
- Persons admitted to a health or social care facility for purposes other than research
- Persons not affiliated with a social security system or beneficiaries of a similar system
- Failure to comply with the exclusion period from another study specified in the national volunteer registry
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- Adults subject to legal protection measures (guardianship, curatorship)
- Persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision
- Persons who have exceeded the annual compensation amount for participation in research protocols
- Persons with a chronic progressive or advanced disease detectable by clinical examination and laboratory tests that may interfere with the study's evaluation criteria, the judgment of which is left to the discretion of the research team
- Persons with hemiplegia or another form of partial/total paralysis
- Contraindications to metabolic testing: severe coagulation disorder, anemia, difficult and painful venous access in the investigator's judgment
- Chronic constipation or diarrhea
- Taking antibiotics within 15 days prior to the investigations and in the absence of induced digestive disorders (for so-called common antibiotics of the beta-lactam family) or within the month prior to the investigations, at the investigator's discretion (for Augmentin).
- Polypharmacy, including drugs known to affect the microbiota and intestinal transit
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Hubert VIDAL, MD contact
France1 site
Aging Medicine Department / Hôpital Lyon Sud
Pierre-Bénite, 69495
Léo DELAIRE, +33478363946, leo.delaire@chu-lyon.fr
About this study
Official title: Comparative Study of Postprandial Fibroblast Growth Factor-19 (FGF-19) Secretion Kinetics in Older Adults With or Without Frailty
Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 (FGF-19) is an intestinal hormone secreted in the post-prandial state, whose primary role is to inhibit bile acid synthesis in the liver. It is expressed by the FXR (Farnesoid X receptor) nuclear receptor in the enterocytes of the ileum, which is activated by specific bile acids metabolized in the gut microbiota. It was demonstrated that treatment with FGF-19 induces myofiber hypertrophy in vitro and increases muscle strength and mass in mice model of sarcopenia. Sarcopenia and the commonly associated physical frailty, are age-related syndromes associated with adverse events (such as falls and fractures, mobility disability) and increased mortality. Currently, there is no drug treatment that has been proven effective to counteract those syndromes and standard care consists in non-pharmacological interventions (exercise and nutrition) whose implementation remains complex due to several barriers. Moreover, the anabolic resistance underlying sarcopenia hampers the exercise-induced response on muscle mass and the level of evidence for this outcome remains poor-to-moderate. Thus, FGF-19 could be considered as a new regulator of skeletal muscle in elderly living with sarcopenia/frailty but there are, to date, only few data available in the literature. First and foremost, it is crucial to understand the relationship between postprandial FGF-19 and muscle which has not been characterized yet. Preliminary data suggest an inverse relationship between FGF-19 and physical function (OR= 0.33 [0.15;0.7] for the highest tertile of FGF-19) that persisted only in the cluster of frail individuals (OR= 0.19 [0.05;0.65]. Mechanistically, this suggests a positive feedback loop of the bile acids-gut-microbiota-FGF-19 in the presence of frailty/sarcopenia hence indicating that FGF-19 may be a novel biomarker of this condition.
- Conditions
- Frailty, Sarcopenia
- Being tested
- FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood sampling
- Keywords
- Frailty, Sarcopenia, Hormone, Muscle
- Medical subject headings
- Frailty, Sarcopenia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood samplingBiological
Following inclusion, participants will be summoned within 30 days maximum. They will be asked to fast from 8 pm the night before and will receive specific instructions for their last meal. Prior to blood sampling, they will be seen by a doctor who will rule-out any contraindications to the test. If conditions are met, a trained nurse will insert a venous catheter and the intravenous infusion required for blood sampling. An initial sample will be taken in the fasting state. Then, participants will have to eat a standardized meal consisting of a vegetable soup enriched with cream, palm and rapeseed oil, together with a vanilla cream enriched with glucose. The meal will provide a total of 921 kcal with 20.1g of protein, 59.6 of fat and 75g of carbohydrates in total. Following meal, blood will be collected each hour during 4 hours. Participant will remain under constant medical supervision. After sampling, doctor will ensure that participant does not show any negative clinical signs.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| FRAIL | Experimental | Older adult (>70 years) with a Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score ≤8, confirmed frailty (≥ 3 criteria in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and a sarcopenia at least probable (regarding the revised European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs ie. Low muscle strength either in the handgrip <27kg in men and <16kg in women or in the 5-repetitions chair stand test >15s) Receives: Biological: FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood sampling |
| ROBUST | Other | Older adult (>70 years) with a SPPB score >8, no frailty (no criterion in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and no sarcopenia (normal muscle strength regarding the European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs). Receives: Biological: FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood sampling |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Area Under Curve (AUC) of plasmatic post-prandial FGF-19 level
Blood samples will be stocked at -80 degrees in the laboratory and will be analyzed by ELISA kits at the end of the inclusion period.
Measured: 0 min, 60 min, 120min, 180min, 240min
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted26 Oct 2026
- Study start16 Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion16 Mar 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion16 Mar 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for FrailtyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Hospices Civils de LyonThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Screening
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 30 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Hospices Civils de Lyon
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07893665
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 69HCL25_1186
- Acronym
- PRO-FGF
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 19 Oct 2026
- Last updated
- 26 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 26 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Comparative Study of Postprandial Fibroblast Growth Factor-19 (FGF-19) Secretion Kinetics in Older Adults With or Without Frailty
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07893665
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- PRO-FGF / 69HCL25_1186
- Conditions
- Frailty, Sarcopenia
- Keywords
- Frailty, Sarcopenia, Hormone, Muscle
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 30 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Hospices Civils de LyonUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 16 Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 16 Mar 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 16 Mar 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 26 Oct 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 (FGF-19) is an intestinal hormone secreted in the post-prandial state, whose primary role is to inhibit bile acid synthesis in the liver. It is expressed by the FXR (Farnesoid X receptor) nuclear receptor in the enterocytes of the ileum, which is activated by specific bile acids metabolized in the gut microbiota. It was demonstrated that treatment with FGF-19 induces myofiber hypertrophy in vitro and increases muscle strength and mass in mice model of sarcopenia. Sarcopenia and the commonly associated physical frailty, are age-related syndromes associated with adverse events (such as falls and fractures, mobility disability) and increased mortality. Currently, there is no drug treatment that has been proven effective to counteract those syndromes and standard care consists in non-pharmacological interventions (exercise and nutrition) whose implementation remains complex due to several barriers. Moreover, the anabolic resistance underlying sarcopenia hampers the exercise-induced response on muscle mass and the level of evidence for this outcome remains poor-to-moderate. Thus, FGF-19 could be considered as a new regulator of skeletal muscle in elderly living with sarcopenia/frailty but there are, to date, only few data available in the literature. First and foremost, it is crucial to understand the relationship between postprandial FGF-19 and muscle which has not been characterized yet. Preliminary data suggest an inverse relationship between FGF-19 and physical function (OR= 0.33 [0.15;0.7] for the highest tertile of FGF-19) that persisted only in the cluster of frail individuals (OR= 0.19 [0.05;0.65]. Mechanistically, this suggests a positive feedback loop of the bile acids-gut-microbiota-FGF-19 in the presence of frailty/sarcopenia hence indicating that FGF-19 may be a novel biomarker of this condition.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Screening
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| FRAIL | Experimental | Biological: FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood samplingOlder adult (>70 years) with a Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score ≤8, confirmed frailty (≥ 3 criteria in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and a sarcopenia at least probable (regarding the revised European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs ie. Low muscle strength either in the handgrip <27kg in men and <16kg in women or in the 5-repetitions chair stand test >15s) |
| ROBUST | Other | Biological: FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood samplingOlder adult (>70 years) with a SPPB score >8, no frailty (no criterion in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and no sarcopenia (normal muscle strength regarding the European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs). |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 70 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Age ≥70 years
- Give his/her informed consent
- For the FRAIL group: SPPB ≤8, confirmed frailty (≥ 3 criteria in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and a at least a probable sarcopenia (regarding the revised European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs ie. Low muscle strength either in the handgrip <27kg in men and <16kg in women or in the 5-repetitions chair stand test >15s)
- For the ROBUST group: SPPB >8, no frailty (no criterion in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and no sarcopenia (normal muscle strength regarding the European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs).
Key exclusion criteria (15 listed)
- Individuals who have undergone cholecystectomy, colectomy, or small bowel resection
- Individuals with diabetes undergoing oral treatment with metformin
- Body mass index >35 kg/m2
- Persons admitted to a health or social care facility for purposes other than research
- Persons not affiliated with a social security system or beneficiaries of a similar system
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood samplingFollowing inclusion, participants will be summoned within 30 days maximum. They will be asked to fast from 8 pm the night before and will receive specific instructions for their last meal. Prior to blood sampling, they will be seen by a doctor who will rule-out any contraindications to the test. If conditions are met, a trained nurse will insert a venous catheter and the intravenous infusion required for blood sampling. An initial sample will be taken in the fasting state. Then, participants will have to eat a standardized meal consisting of a vegetable soup enriched with cream, palm and rapeseed oil, together with a vanilla cream enriched with glucose. The meal will provide a total of 921 kcal with 20.1g of protein, 59.6 of fat and 75g of carbohydrates in total. Following meal, blood will be collected each hour during 4 hours. Participant will remain under constant medical supervision. After sampling, doctor will ensure that participant does not show any negative clinical signs. | Biological | FRAIL, ROBUST |
Primary outcome
Area Under Curve (AUC) of plasmatic post-prandial FGF-19 level
Time frame: 0 min, 60 min, 120min, 180min, 240min
Blood samples will be stocked at -80 degrees in the laboratory and will be analyzed by ELISA kits at the end of the inclusion period.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 26 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Hubert VIDAL, MD contact
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing FLEXMEAL : post-prandial blood sampling in people with Frailty and Sarcopenia, run by Hospices Civils de Lyon at 1 site in France.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 15 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 26 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Léo DELAIRE, MD (+33478363946, leo.delaire@chu-lyon.fr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Area Under Curve (AUC) of plasmatic post-prandial FGF-19 level (time frame: 0 min, 60 min, 120min, 180min, 240min). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 26 Oct 2026.